Advocating Autism Recovery & Awareness Worldwide

Behavior Analysis in Practice Reviews Skills

It is a great time to be a behavior analyst! Our “young” science has entered into the mainstream in the past two decades and recent innovations in communication and technology make it possible for behavior analysts to collaborate with each other and serve a global clientele. With our penchant for data collection, tablets and smart phones provide almost limitless options and opportunities (and they graph too!). The web lets us share those graphs, reports, etc. and live chat gives us the chance to disseminate information and remotely consult with clients in ways that only the writers for Star Trek could have imagined 45 years ago, back when Skinner was penning Contingencies of Reinforcement.

New technology comes on the market every day and behavior analysts need a way to evaluate the efficacy and efficiency of available products to determine which may be valuable to their practice. Behavior Analysis in Practice, a peer reviewed journal published by the Association for Behavior Analysis International, has recognized this need and is now conducting a series of product reviews. Skills® was chosen as the inaugural product for review!

As a web-based assessment and curriculum, Skills® is the consummate product for this review series because it is the realization of a both technological and behavior analytic advances. Skills® combines a comprehensive curriculum and assessment with technology that gives users global access to state-of-the art tools for designing, implementing, and managing high-quality individualized ABA treatment programs. Skills® was designed to increase efficiency without sacrificing the necessary individualization of an ABA program. Web-based technology streamlines program development and progress tracking, report writing, IEP goal generation and BIP development while still remaining client specific.

The highly favorable review, by Joshua Pritchard, Ph.D., BCBA of the Florida Institute of Technology, can be found in a recent issue of Behavior Analysis in Practice. Dr. Pritchard writes,

“Skills® is an excellent tool for a team looking for a comprehensive curriculum for children with autism (I’ve yet to see one with more breadth and scope) that was created to be used in an ABA-based treatment program by experts in the field.”

Dr. Pritchard also recognizes the potential value of Skills® to researchers interested in conducting large-scale behavior analytic research. Skills® provides researchers with standardized learning content. Because it can be accessed internationally, it creates the potential for large-scale research studies that have previously been improbable in the field of ABA.